The Young Mother eBook

This rule is the more important, because, if duly
persevered in, it will generally prevent disease,
and save the trouble and evil consequences of taking
medicine at all. Meanwhile it will be advisable
to call in a physician—­not to give drugs,
but to prevent the necessity of giving them.
There is a foolish fear abroad that physicians, if
called before a person is violently sick, will dose
him with their drugs, as a matter of course, till
they make him sick. But this, no judicious
physician will ever do. It may have been
done, though I believe it has been seldom. The
more general course is to defer calling for medical
advice, till it is too late to use preventive means;
and medicine is then resorted to by the physician
as a sort of necessary evil.

A judicious physician, seasonably called in, would
in many instances save a severe fit of sickness, besides
a great deal of expense, both of time and money.

But if the first symptoms of approaching disease are
overlooked—­if the child is fed, or rather
crammed; with solid food as much as ever—­and
if no medical advice is sought, his sleep will soon
become disturbed; he will be talking, starting, and
tumbling about, and will have frightful dreams; or
he will at other times be found smiling and laughing.
To these, in the end, may be added, loss of appetite,
paleness, emaciation, weakness, cough, and consumption;
or colics, worms, and convulsions.

I do not undertake to say that the most judicious
parental management, aided by the greatest medical
skill, will always prevent disease; far from it.
The child may and undoubtedly sometimes does inherit
a tendency to a particular disease; or he may be made
sick by error in regard to dress, exercise, &c.
But so long as nine tenths of the disease and early
mortality of the young might be prevented by due attention
to all these means combined, so long will it be necessary
to reiterate the sentiments of the present section.

This subject may be considered under the following
heads: ROCKING IN THE CRADLE; CARRYING IN THE
ARMS; CREEPING; WALKING; RIDING IN A CARRIAGE; AND
RIDING ON HORSEBACK. These I shall consider in
their order.

SEC. 1. Rocking in the Cradle.

There are two opinions in regard to the use of the
cradle in the nursery. Some condemn it altogether;
others think its occasional use highly proper.
Those who condemn it, do it chiefly on the ground that
it produces a whirling motion of the brain, which,
while it inclines to giddiness and lulls to sleep,
disturbs, in some degree, the process of digestion.